Monday, August 23, 2010

Wood Privacy Screens

Earlier this month I shared a post about exterior ideas that we were considering for our house and in the post I briefly discussed the idea of adding a wood privacy screen that would give us some more privacy, extra shade during the summer months as well as add a decorative element to the front of our home.

Midcentury Madam was kind enough to take the time to comment on my post and she mentioned that she was also interested in the the idea of possibly adding a wood privacy screen to her own home as well. I thought I'd take the time to share some pages from some magazines and books that feature decorative wood screens added to mid-century homes in case other folks find them as inspiring as I do. There's a lot you can do with some wood and paint!

The first images are from the Better Homes & Gardens Landscape Planning book originally published in 1963 and the last article is from an old issue of Popular Mechanics (just click on the images to see larger versions of them).

Glad you enjoyed it! We do have pre-made lattice screens for sale at shops like Home Depot in the US. Hopefully posts like this might help people realize that with a little creativity you can make your own. And yes, I do enjoy Mid-Century Madam's blog and she seems like a swell gal! :)

Those color panels are great but I also really like the more subdued stuff. The board & dowel screen is incredibly eye-catching and I also like the somewhat asian influenced look of the bottom one on the right. Of course you can paint them any color you like!

Love love love this idea! I'm trying to buy a home in Palm Springs, and of course am looking at only mid century homes. If I end up getting a place there I definitely want to add something like this to the backyard, maybe as a divider or a surrounding for a changing area. Seriously love your post, so inspired now- thanks!

I love the Grill Construction in the last photo! That pattern shows up a lot throughout our mid-century home. We're planning on adding a privacy wall with brick (to match the brick of our exterior/interior) to our front yard, but this screen is now an option. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

What a wonderful post. Thank you so much for sharing. I love the last photo as well and love hearing it was made mainly with scrap lumber. I appreciate the comments about my blog. It's good to know there are like minded mcm enthusiasts out there. We are currently looking for someone to do some house plans from some drawings I've done. No one seems to get it. They are either unfamiliar or unimpressed with mcm designed homes. It's very frustrating. I love finding blogs like yours to keep me inspired. Thanks again.

I have the chair and larger couch (4 cushions) that match that dux sofa! I'm keeping the chair but am going to get rid of the couch since I don't have room for it. The previous owner had been thinking about taking it apart to salvage the wood from it, can you believe that?!

I think we just found out fence! My wife and I have been struggling for months trying to figure out what type of fence or wall to put in our backyard. We are turning our basic ranch into a mid-century home that is turning out better than we ever dreamed. This wall pictured above is going to truly set us apart. Thanks for your blog.

Has anyone done this screen (or something similar) on a larger scale? Just curious. My wife and I are thinking about doing this around our entire backyard and are wondering if they have any helpful hints.

About Mid-Century Living

Welcome to Mid-Century Living! My name is Kimberly and I'm a longtime admirer of mid-century design. My husband and I recently bought our first home and it's a beautiful old custom built 1954 atomic ranch house in Napa, CA. I plan to share my adventures in home restoration and remodeling as well as various decorating tips, gardening and landscaping ideas, recipes and anything else that falls under the banner of "Mid-Century" or "Living." I'll also be writing about local issues and various things that interest me as a new home owner. I hope you'll enjoy your stop here!